A Disaster, She Said
by le.etoile
Summary: It was such a pretty color... Blood, that is. IchiHime oneshot. Rated T for angst and blood.


_*sighs* Guh, still sick... I wanna cry. :( Stupid bug thing... Anywho, here's a random one-shot. I actually got inspired by an Halibel icon I saw that had the words I'm using for the title of this. :/ I gotta stop writing so much angst... Enjoy, if you can. XD (Sorry it's so short.)  


* * *

i._

"It's okay, Inoue… It's over… It's all right now." The shinigami spoke, a gentle smirk on his battle-worn face. She wanted to smile back, but she was oh so tired.

So she fainted instead.

_ii._

It hurt to smile. It hurt to go back to school.

_What good is learning math when Kurosaki-kun bled? And what about Japanese literature? Ishida-kun lost a hand and that subject certainly didn't help._

She stood from her seat despite being in the middle of class. Bolting from the class, the teacher paid no mind. It was normal as of late for the healer to leave during the lesson. It was also common for a certain redhead to rise from his own seat, and follow right after her.

Ochi didn't question, but she knew something big happened. _They're just lucky I'm such a nice teacher._ She mentally scoffed.

_iii._

"Can't you tell me what's going on, Inoue?"

"No."

"You're not even giving me a chance to talk to you? I can hel-"

"This is one thing you can't help me with, Kurosaki-kun… I'll see you tomorrow."

And she left.

_iv._

Big, wide gray eyes numbly stared at the sight around her. It was all so red… So much liquid red, it hurt her head. And the smell didn't help any. That musk, coppery stench wafted into her nose, instantly causing her stomach to lurch.

Had she done this? No, no… She could never harm anyone. She didn't _want _to harm anyone.

Though the gray followed the trail of ruby red fluid, watching, wondering, just what was the cause of the mess. Her eyes flashed with fear as she saw the all-familiar orange accompanying the dark color.

_Kurosaki… kun._

Lifeless, soulless, and quickly fading amber eyes stared at nothing. His usually vibrant, orange locks were caking with blood, and tan skin grew dangerously pale.

_What do I do? K-Kurosaki-kun, what do I do??_

More blood flew as she saw Ishida go flying past her. She could barely see his lips moving through the tears, and couldn't hear what he was saying. The sound of her heart was pounding too loud in her ears.

_What do I do??_

If only she hadn't come. If only _they_ hadn't come. There wouldn't be any fighting. No pain, no hurt, no blood.

"Help us, Kurosaki-kun!!"

A normal, sane person knew the dead couldn't rise back to life. Inoue Orihime certainly didn't think that way either. But those bright, gold eyes were all too familiar to her, and the orange tresses behind him… behind _it_, only reminded her of him.

"E-Eh?"

The thing extended a claw, making a low, growling almost, sound in the back of its throat. It was only a matter of moments until the claw latched onto her own slim, fragile neck.

_I'm going to die…_ She thought, yet she accepted it. She'd only hurt others, it was only fair they hurt her.

The pressure increased and she gasped, wanting and needing air. _Don't fight._ She told herself.

She must accept her fate. Accept death.

_v._

Gray eyes snapped open, fear clearly showing. _W-Where??_ Slowly but surely bringing a hand up to her neck, she noted its tenderness. There was no pale while hand and black claws grasping it tightly, but it still hurt like it.

Turning her head around, it was soon discovered she was in the park, the one near her house. Orihime's heart fell, finding she was only dreaming.

No, not dreaming. Experiencing a nightmare.

Shuddering heavily, she let her body slack back against the tree. This had been the, what… Fifth time she's fallen asleep at random? _More like passing out…_

The healer sucked in a deep breath and stood up, despite shaking, weak knees. Her gaze directed toward the sky, vaguely noting its bleak, dark sky. Fallen asleep in the park at night. _Way to go Orihime…_

Shrugging her book bag over her small shoulder, she shuddered again as a cold breeze hit her fragile form. The healer began taking shaky steps towards her apartment, unaware of the amber eyes watching over her from afar.

_vi._

"You fell asleep _where??_"

"Tatsuki-chan, keep your voice down please… But it was at the park near my house."

"So it happened again?"

Looking into her friend's charcoal eyes, Orihime nodded meekly. "Yes… I don't even remember walking home after school. I just woke up in the park…" The healer hugged her body close, trembling lightly as she sat at her desk. Although she kept a straight, unemotional expression, her body's actions said otherwise.

Tatsuki's face fell and she left her side without saying a word. She wouldn't force her friend to speak. Hell, she probably wouldn't be able to understand what she was going through.

What Tatsuki didn't know is that neither did Orihime.

_vii._

"You just had to leave. You had to fucking leave."

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to help! You and everyone else would've gotten hurt if I didn't."

"And I died, what… two or three times in Hueco Mundo? One death would've been plenty Inoue, but no, you had to make me suffer three times over."

"I… Kurosaki-kun, I didn't-"

"You did."

His grip on Zangetsu grew tighter and his knuckles began to turn whiter. Orihime noticed this and protested for him to stop.

And then that color showed up again. The red.

Looking down, she saw the sleek black blade of Zangetsu impaled in her stomach, that red liquid dribbling down her skin and soaking her clothes.

"K-Kuro…"

"Now you know how I felt. Just imagine that pain three more times though."

Her eyes closed again only for them to snap open moments later.

_viii._

A dream.

No, a nightmare. Again.

Only when she woke this time, her precious red liquid called blood was very apparent on her abdomen. Slowly pulling up the fabric of her shirt, there was a cut. Not life threatening, but it was still deep enough.

Her throat began to ache as she remembered the dream of when he- _it _, strangled her.

And so it began.

_ix._

Tatsuki originally forced Ichigo to stay away from Orihime, claiming he was bad for her, causing her more harm than good. However, upon seeing the frail, pale, bony form of Inoue Orihime, she let him see her.

Scuffing his food into the dark dirt, he approached the healer with caution.

"Hey Inoue… How have you been?"

Orihime looked to him unemotionally, with soulless gray eyes.

"Fine and dandy, Kurosaki-kun. Yourself?"

_Definitely not her…_ He mentally commented. _Inoue isn't sarcastic._

"To be honest… Worried about you…" For a brief second, he could've sworn he say a flash of _something_ in her eyes. Pain? Enthusiasm? He couldn't tell.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, his cheeks grew a bit warmer._ Here goes nothing…_ "Inoue, would you want to go out someti-" He had planned on asking her to the new Bad Shield, but something disturbing caught his eye, immediately stopping his current request.

"I-Is that a bruise on your neck??"

"Yep."

"God, that looks like… A hand… Shit, did anyone hurt you, Inoue??"

Yes. You.

Orihime merely shook her head and turned around, leaving _Kurosaki-kun_ alone. She wouldn't drag him down. She finally knew what was happening to her, and she didn't like it. It burdened her enough, so why would she drag him down too?

_x._

The last time was in class, actually in English. Orihime had fallen asleep _again_ in class, but Ochi-sensei, being the laid back teacher she was when it came to the healer, let her sleep. She'd wake her up eventually, as soon as she thought of a new, amusing way to wake the slumbering teen.

Tatsuki glanced back and forth from the board to her small friend, silently watching her grow paler by the minute. _What's wrong with you Orihime?_

Red.

The liquid had dribbled from her pale lips into a small puddle on her desk. A screech of horror rang through the classroom, instantly alarming the rest of the class.

Tatsuki, now in hysterics within seconds, was by Orihime's side, frantically trying to shake her awake.

Amber eyes, from afar, took in the scene in slow motion. It felt so dreamlike… That Inoue was bleeding, dying, unwilling to wake up, right in front of his eyes.

Blinking slowly, he was unable to take in the situation. Tatsuki's tears, Keigo's horrified face, Ochi's angry demands that Ichigo bring her down to the nurse immediately.

So he did.

Only the nurse couldn't determine the situation. She suggested calling an ambulance instantly, but something snapped in Ichigo, telling him this wasn't right. _Don't'_ bring her to the hospital.

So he picked her frail, weak form up and cradled Orihime in his arms, and ran. He ran as fast as he could to the shop he'd wished he'd never have to return to since they got back from Hueco Mundo.

Urahara Shouten.

_xi._

"She won't wake up. She probably never will either."

"What the fuck did you do to her??"

"My, my, Kurosaki-san, such forcefulness. But you shouldn't be asking that question to me. Ask Sosuke Aizen."

"W-What…? A-Anyway, he's dead! I can't ask that bastard what's wrong with her!"

"He's the cause behind Inoue-san's condition."

"What did he do, dammit! Tell me!"

_xii._

"She's trapped in her nightmares."

.

.

.

_R & R~_


End file.
